My favorite director Robert Rodriguez!

Wow, another great day at SXSW 2010.  It is day 2 of the Film conference and this is the big day for the much anticipated panel on Directing the Dead: Genre Directors Spill their Guts with directors Robert Rodriguez (Dusk til Dawn, The Faculty, Desperado), Neil Marshall (The Decent), Ti West (The House of the Devil), Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), and Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland).  Quentin Tarantino was also supposed to be on the panel but bailed out last minute.  The rest of the panel more than made up for Tarantino’s absence with their in depth discussion about what places are best for screening your horror movie, where it is best to film, and how horror directors network.

Most of the directors agreed that SXSW and Austin, Texas in general is a fabulous place to screen or premier your horror movie (never mind the fact that Robert Rodriguez lives here).  Probably due to a diverse and eclectic population, everyone on the panel agreed that Austinites are very receptive to horror and great fans.  Another place Marshall mentioned that had a receptive and vocal horror audience was London especially during Fright Fest UK.

The directors seemed to have different favorite states when it came to where it was best to film.  In Zombieland, they specifically mentioned Garland, Texas in the movie, but according to Fleischer the movie was actually filmed in Georgia.  Ti West said he likes to film in Connecticut where they give 30% of the cost of the film back to the directors.  Being a native of El Paso, Robert Rodriguez said Texas is a great place to film.

Horror directors are few and far between so networking is essential for this niche genre.  Robert Rodriguez specifically mentioned a group of Horror directors who get together for dinner regularly in Austin, Texas.  Dubbed the “Masters of Horror,” guests have included a number of big names and even Stephen King has been known to make an appearance from time to time.

All in all it was a very informative panel to watch if you are an aspiring horror genre director.